The authors devised a protocol that allows two parties, who may malfunction or intentionally convey incorrect information in communication through a quantum channel, to verify each other's ...measurements and agree on each other's results. This has particular relevance in a modified version of the quantum coin flipping game. The key innovation of the authors’ work includes the new design of a quantum coin that excludes any advantage of cheating, by which the long‐standing problem of the fair design of the game is, affirmatively, solved. Furthermore, the analysis is extended to N‐parties communicating with each other, where multiple solutions for the verification of each player's measurement is proposed. The results in the N‐party scenario could have particular relevance for the implementation of future quantum networks, where verification of quantum information is a necessity.
The authors developed a protocol to ensure that two parties communicating through a quantum channel can verify the accuracy of each other's measurements and agree on the results, even if there are malfunctions or intentional misinformation. This protocol eliminates the possibility of cheating in a modified quantum coin flipping game. The study also extends the analysis to scenarios involving multiple parties, proposing various solutions for verifying each player's measurement.
Two years ago, we described the first droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) system aimed at empowering all researchers with a tool that removes the substantial uncertainties associated with using the analogue ...standard, quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). This system enabled TaqMan hydrolysis probe-based assays for the absolute quantification of nucleic acids. Due to significant advancements in droplet chemistry and buoyed by the multiple benefits associated with dye-based target detection, we have created a “second generation” ddPCR system compatible with both TaqMan-probe and DNA-binding dye detection chemistries. Herein, we describe the operating characteristics of DNA-binding dye based ddPCR and offer a side-by-side comparison to TaqMan probe detection. By partitioning each sample prior to thermal cycling, we demonstrate that it is now possible to use a DNA-binding dye for the quantification of multiple target species from a single reaction. The increased resolution associated with partitioning also made it possible to visualize and account for signals arising from nonspecific amplification products. We expect that the ability to combine the precision of ddPCR with both DNA-binding dye and TaqMan probe detection chemistries will further enable the research community to answer complex and diverse genetic questions.
The effect of exercise training on whole-body insulin sensitivity has not been systematically summarized. We aimed to summarize the data from randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of ...exercise training on insulin action, in adults.
MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases were searched until January 2021. Randomized controlled trials lasting ≥4 weeks, including adults, and evaluating the effect of exercise on insulin-stimulated glucose disposal measured using the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp, were included.
Three reviewers extracted summary data from published trials. The primary outcome was insulin-stimulated glucose disposal. Standardized weighted mean differences (SMD) in glucose disposal between intervention and control were compared. The PEDro scale was used to assess risk of bias.
We included 25 trials (36 interventions, N = 851). Exercise increased insulin-stimulated glucose disposal relative to control, SMD = 0.52 (95% confidence interval CI: 0.39, 0.65; p < 0.001; I
= 47%) without significantly suppressing hepatic glucose production. In trials without isotopic tracers, exercise increased glucose disposal (SMD = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.48, 0.77; p < 0.001, I
= 55%). In trials with isotopic tracers, exercise increased glucose disposal only when tracers were added to the exogenous glucose used for clamping (SMD = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.66, p = 0.034. I
= 0%). In a meta-regression model including aerobic exercise, weight change, and tracer technique, only percent weight change explained between trial heterogeneity (β = 0.069; 95% CI: 0.005, 0.013). The PEDro rating indicated relatively low risk of bias (5.8 ± 0.22).
Exercise training for at least four weeks significantly increases insulin-stimulated glucose disposal. Weight loss maximizes the effect and may be needed to improve hepatic insulin sensitivity. Differences in tracer methodology contribute to divergent outcomes and should be considered when assessing conclusions from research examining the effect of exercise on insulin action.
PROSPERO (CRD42019124381).
Nurses have historically led efforts to improve the health of populations while simultaneously and unselfishly providing care during pivotal moments of national need. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed ...an unprecedented strain on the US health care system, including severe shortages of hospital beds, supplies, equipment, pharmaceuticals, and healthy frontline clinicians. Perioperative and perianesthesia leaders and clinicians have unique opportunities to provide patient care during the COVID-19 crisis. In this manuscript, we describe the initial changing roles and contributions of perioperative and perianesthesia registered nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic and share recent experiences from a military medical center. Perioperative and perianesthesia nurses are vital to the overall nursing viability of the health care system, as they possess the requisite knowledge and skills to provide expert clinical care in many hospital settings and meet the demands of a global pandemic.
Adam Lowe, founder of Factum Arte, discussed his notion of “datareality.” Heritage, he argued, can no longer be thought of in terms of unique immutable objects. Digital technology has thrown heritage ...into a new reality where scanning and printing, dematerialization and rematerialization, blur the boundary between the physical and the virtual, the tangible and the intangible. The digital is no longer linked only to the virtual and now has a physical presence. According to Lowe, we are witnessing the rise of a new “datareality” that is related but not the same as materiality and that will change how we think and practice preservation.
Genomics provides a comprehensive view of the complete genetic makeup of an organism. Individual sequence variations, as manifested by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), can provide insight into ...the basis for a large number of phenotypes and diseases including cancer. The ability rapidly screen for SNPs will have a profound impact on a number of applications, most notably personalized medicine. Here we demonstrate a new approach to SNP detection through the application of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to the ligase detection reaction (LDR). The reaction uses two LDR primers, one of which contains a Raman enhancer and the other a reporter dye. In LDR, one of the primers is designed to interrogate the SNP. When the SNP being interrogated matches the discriminating primer sequence, the primers are ligated and the enhancer and dye are brought into close proximity enabling the dye’s Raman signature to be detected. By detecting the Raman signature of the dye rather than its fluorescence emission, our technique avoids the problem of spectral overlap which limits number of reactions which can be carried out in parallel by existing systems. We demonstrate the LDR-SERS reaction for the detection of point mutations in the human K-ras oncogene. The reaction is implemented in an electrokinetically active microfluidic device that enables physical concentration of the reaction products for enhanced detection sensitivity and quantization. We report a limit of detection of 20 pM of target DNA with the anticipated specificity engendered by the LDR platform.
Norbornane and fused
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polynorbornane frameworks are readily synthesised, can be tailored to a variety of predictable geometries and can be functionalised regiospecifically. As such, these highly ...preorganised scaffolds offer the supramolecular chemist an excellent starting point when designing hosts for specific guests. This feature article will highlight the evolution of our research from relatively simple norbornane based anion receptors to more sophisticated tetrathioureido functionalised fused
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polynorbornane hosts.
This article highlights the evolution of simple norbornane based anion receptors into more sophisticated tetrathioureido functionalised fused
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polynorbornane hosts.
The new NICE guideline for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), published in October 2021, makes significant changes in treatment recommendations. It acknowledges the ...complexity of this chronic medical condition, which always impacts quality of life and can be profoundly disabling, recognising the prejudice and stigma that people with ME/CFS often experience in the absence of any specific diagnostic test. The guideline outlines steps for accurate diagnosis, recognising post-exertional malaise as a core symptom; importantly, ME/CFS can now be diagnosed after just 3 months in a bid to improve long-term health outcomes. It recommends the need for individual, tailored management by a multi-disciplinary team, ensuring that the wellbeing of the individual is paramount. The guideline makes clear that any programme based on fixed incremental increases in physical activity or exercise, for example, graded exercise therapy (GET), should not be offered as a treatment for ME/CFS and emphasises that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) should only be offered as a supportive intervention. Because of the rigorous methodology required by NICE Committee review and the inclusion of the testimony of people with lived experience as committee members, this guideline will influence the future diagnosis and management of ME/CFS in the UK and beyond.
The text offers enlightening reflections on issues concerning reproductions of works of art, the status of an original and a copy, the problem of conservation, and the role of digital photography. ...Latour and Lowe raise the contentious issue of how good and bad reproductions can affect the original, participate in what they call “the migration of the aura”. This is primarily a case study of a production, presentation, reception and the meaning of a facsimile of a Veronese work, Nozze di Cana at its original location, San Giorgio in Venice. The second part of the text (the appendix) is a meticulous, technical description of the stages of production of the picture by Lowe.
This paper details a novel, patent pending, abrasive machining manufacturing process for the formation of sub-millimetre holes in THGEMs, with the intended application in gaseous and dual-phase TPCs. ...Abrasive machining favours a non-ductile substrate such as glasses or ceramics. This innovative manufacturing process allows for unprecedented versatility in THGEM substrates, electrodes, and hole geometry and pattern. Consequently, THGEMs produced via abrasive machining can be tailored for specific properties: for example, high stiffness, low total thickness variation, radiopurity, moisture absorption/outgassing and/or carbonisation resistance. This paper specifically focuses on three glass substrate THGEMs (G-THGEMs) made from Schott Borofloat 33 and fused silica. Circular and hexagonal hole shapes are also investigated. The G-THGEM electrodes are made from indium tin oxide (ITO), with a resistivity of 150 Ω/Sq. All G-THGEMs were characterised in an optical (EMCCD) readout GArTPC and compared to a traditionally manufactured FR4 THGEM, with their charging and secondary scintillation (S2) light production behaviour analysed.
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